Cornstalk-cutter



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J .B.FORBES.. GORNSTALK CUTTER. No.56'7,89.3. Patented Sept l 15,1896.'

fiyfi,

Witnesses. Inventor.

I Attorney.

.drivers seat 1.

Nrrnn STATES JOHN B. FORBES, OF JEFFERSON, IOVA.

SJ? 1L01F;IGAJIION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,893, datedSeptember 15, 1.896.

Application-filed l rn 22,1896.

To all whom it 777/67, concern:

Be it known that I, J OHNBLFORSBES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jefferson, in the county of Greene and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cornstalk-Cutters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to harvesters-and particularly to acornstalk-cutter, and its novelty and advantageous construction andimproved results will be understood from the following description andclaims when taken in connection with the annexed drawings.

The object of the invention is toeprovide a draft-bar hanging from theaxle-hound of the machine, to which bar rotary cutters are connected andautomatically adjusted by the movement of the said bar.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and novel means ofhanging a series of rotary cutters independent of each other from theaxle of the machine, so as to out three rows of cornstalks at one timeduring the travel of the machine.

Further objects and advantages peculiar to this machine will behereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, Figure lis a top plan view with one hood removed. Fig. 2 is a section on thelinear a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of one of thecutters, its journal-arms, its connecting-bars, and part of thedraft-bar. Fig. at is an enlarged section of the draft-bar and hound atthe intersection of the king-bolt with parts broken away.

The same numeral-references denote the same parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawings.

The axle 1 is provided with an ordinary The axle sits below the spindles2 of the wheels 3 and is provided with a hound 4, the latter extendingthe whole length of the axle and having a tongue 5 connected to it andto the axle. Near each end of the hound is a sheave or pulley'fi, housedin the body of the hound and is engaged by chains 7 secured to each endof a lift-bar 8 above the hound and extending through the latter, wherethey are secured to the draft-barf).

A kin gbolt 10 is fixed to the hound in a slant- SerialNo. 588,626. (Nomodel.)

ing ordiagonal position, which connects the hound anddraft-bar through ahole 10 in the latter and is of sufficient length to allow the latterample vertical play or movement, and the bolt-hole is of sufficient sizeto permit the bolt to follow in a diagonal direction the draft-bar asthe latter is raised and lowered. This draft-bar has a forwardprojectionll, provided with a lateral slot 12, in which is to be secureda whiffletree '13.

Inoperating the machine to raise the cutters the lift-bar is raised,which raises the draft-bar vertically and slightly backward as itisdrawn up to the hound, and owing to the cutter-frame 18, being pivotedas described, and the connecting-bars 17 to said frame and draft-bar,the latter willpnsh the cutterframes upward as it takes the upward andbackward course. In lowering the cutters the draft-bar has simply to belowered as desired.

The lift-bar 8 is operated by a hand-lever 14, carrying an arm 13, andis provided with a pawl 15 and pivoted to a toothed block 16, secured tothe axle and hound, and the said lever and arm being connected to thelift-bar 8 to raise and lower the draft-bar 9 for the purposehereinafter described.

Pivoted to the rear face of thedraft-bar 9 are a series ofconnecting-bars 17, which extend rearwardly beyond the axle and areconnected in sets of two to the journal-arms 18 of the cutters 19. One'endof the arms 18 is pivoted on the shaft 20, secured in brackets 21upon the rear of the axle 1, and the other ends of the said arms areprovided with j ournal-boxes 21, in which the ends of each cutter-shaft22 are journaled. Thus it will be seen that the least vertical movementgiven the draft-bar will be imparted to the cutterarms and raise orlower the cutters according to the movement of the hand-lever 1%, asdescribed. The rear face of the draft-bar 9 is provided withspringfingers 22, which precede the cutters and clear the way for thebetter operation of the latter.

The cutters are each provided with a hood or cover 23, secured to thejournal-arms 18, to protect the cutters and to prevent the cut stalks,&c,, from flying over the machine. It will be observed that the cuttersare independent of each other, that the arms and connecting-bars havesufficient play to allow the cutters to adjust themselves on account oftheir own weight to the ground or surface they travel upon, and thatfurther adjustment of the cutters may be made by the driver operatingthe hand-lever without leaving his seat. Although I have shown threecutters, one or more may be removed without disturbing all of them bysimply removing the shaft and disconnecting the connections.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a cornstalk-cutting machine, of an axle-houndhaving sheaves or pulleys housed in its body, a shaft secured to theaxle, alift-bar above the hound, a draftbar adj ustably hung from thehound and connected to the lift-bar through the sheaves or pulleys tolift the cutters simultaneously with the lift of the draft-bar,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in. a cornstalk-cutting machine, having a series ofrevoluble cutters hung from the axle of the machine, a draftbaradjustably hung from the axle-hound, a lift-bar above the hound meansfor adjusting the draft-bar, and arms and rods connected together andconnecting the cutters with the draft-bar, whereby the cutters are giventhe same adj ustmentas the draft-bar,as set forth.

3. The combination with a cornstalk-cutter having a series of revolublecutters each cutter having an independent frame hung independent of eachother from the aXle of the machine, of a draft-bar, and means operatedthrough the axle-hound for raising and lowering the cutters and thedraft-bar simultaneously, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a machine of the character described of a shaftsuspended from the axle of the machine, the arms forming a series ofindependent cutter-frames in the ends of which the cutters arejournaled, the other ends being pivoted to the said shaft, a draft-barhung from the axle-hound, and bars connected at one end to the said journal-arms and at the other end to the draft-bar to raise and lower thecutters simultaneously with the draft-bar, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN B. FORBES. Witnesses:

CAL DAVIS, J. A. HENDERSON.

